


Is Something Burning?

by tirsynni



Series: Sands of Time [4]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Whumptober 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-19 10:55:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29998296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tirsynni/pseuds/tirsynni
Summary: Princess Zelda's spy seemed a little off today.
Relationships: Ganondorf/Link (Legend of Zelda)
Series: Sands of Time [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1394671
Comments: 6
Kudos: 120





	Is Something Burning?

**Author's Note:**

> AU of my _Sands of Time_ fic based a Whumptober prompt.

The Princess’s spy was back again.

At least he was attractive enough, and not one of those damned Sheikah. Twice in the last three years, Princess Zelda had sent her pet Sheikah to speak with Ganondorf, and each time, Ganondorf was kind enough to send her back with a warning. He would not be so generous a third time. When Princess Zelda was  _ Queen _ , then perhaps she could consider negotiations. He was confident that the pet Sheikah had snuck around several more times, but Kali and her minions kept a sharp eye on their borders.

Which made it all the more annoying that she had no problem letting this skinny little Hylian repeatedly inside their walls. “Tell me again, Kali, why this brat is again in my Fortress.”

Ganondorf also disliked Kali’s smile when she sat down beside him. Din’s light was bright in the sky, lighting up the courtyard below as they watched the strange Hylian spar with Nabooru. Nabooru, the traitor, seemed to enjoy sparring with the Hylian, teasing him and flirting even as she tried to cut his throat. A spy of Princess Zelda was  _ not _ appropriate breeding material!

“Because we still owe him for his part in The Troubles,” Kali replied promptly, as she always did. Ganondorf grunted. Another reason he disliked the strange Hylian: an ongoing reminder of what he preferred to forget. “Because he is good breeding material --” Ganondorf bit back a growl “-- even if he never notices anyone flirting with him. Because he is a mystery we still haven’t solved.”

Mystery indeed. Ganondorf’s scowl deepened as he watched the flair of green in Din’s warm desert, alien not only in the Fortress but in the fields and in the princess’s treacherous court. He didn’t move like her Knights, nor like her damned Sheikah. That had been Kali’s pet theory for a while: that he was an orphan found by Princess Zelda’s Sheikah and brought up under her authority, but no Sheikah would allow one of their warriors to wander in such bright green. The other theory was that he was a fey creature coaxed using Princess Zelda’s magic from the forest, but Ganondorf had yet to explore the forest -- the only place more treacherous than Princess Zelda’s court -- to find evidence for that theory.

That left Ganondorf with a quiet Hylian clad in non-Hylian clothes in the middle of Ganondorf’s territory, sparring with Ganondorf’s warriors, gathering who knew what information while they gathered nothing about him. Well, beyond his ability to play his ocarina and draw magic impossibly from it, that he proved competitive no matter the field, and his fair skin disliked the fierce desert sun.

“The idiot is getting a sunburn,” Ganondorf said, sighing.

Kali leaned over, eyeing up the warrior. “That nose of his is a beacon for the sun. He never leaves here without it getting burnt.”

Another sigh, one Ganondorf didn’t bother biting back. He stood and took an indulgent moment to watch Din’s rays shine off the Hylian’s golden hair. No hat today. It seemed like the strange Hylian was a glutton for punishment. “He has been flitting in and out of the desert since he was a child.” And a tiny thing he had been, with a stubborn scowl and an arsenal on his tiny back. Ganondorf couldn’t remember when he stopped being that and became someone worthy of pursuit. “He should know better.”

“Perhaps one day, your majesty.”

By the time Ganondorf reached the courtyard, the sparring match had ended, and the Hylian and Nabooru sat on a blanket in the shade. Nabooru leaned over the Hylian, speaking too softly for Ganondorf to catch her words. Only when Kali stopped beside him and tapped his elbow did Ganondorf realize he had stopped, teeth grinding painfully together.

If not for him being Princess Zelda’s spy, the strange Hylian could almost be good breeding material. The Hylian visited frequently, so they knew he was a strong warrior, and he held one of the high scores for their archery range. He was perhaps not the brightest -- Nabooru wasn’t the only Gerudo testing his willingness -- but he was intelligent in other ways, including the puzzles he enjoyed bringing Ganondorf from Hyrule’s markets. Still, he  _ was _ a spy, and Nabooru, as Ganondorf’s second-in-command, should  _ know better _ .

Except when Nabooru leaned backward, it was clear that she wasn’t smiling at Link. A deep frown marred her face, and she pressed the back of her hand against Link’s cheek, unimpressed when Link jerked away from her touch. Even through the shadows, Link’s face looked flushed and too dry.

Biting back a curse, Ganondorf resumed walking, a touch faster than before. He knelt on the blanket opposite Link and studied the Hylian’s sharp features. (Almost aristocratic, something else Kali was investigating.)

No sign of sweat. That was. Not good.

“I actually got a hit in.” Nabooru’s tone was droll, at odds with the tightness around her kohl-lined eyes. “That hasn’t happened in five years.”

Five years… it had truly been a while since Link became a regular visitor at the Fortress. As always, the thought sent a strange spike through Ganondorf’s chest. “Is he able to drink water?”

Link shot both of them a dark look and raised his canteen. Nabooru promptly tapped the bottom of it. “So drink, brat.  _ Slowly. _ ”

Neither the shade nor the growing fever detracted from the brightness of Link’s eyes: if anything, they seemed to enhance it. As always, annoyingly distracting. “Has a Healer been called for?”

Link’s scowl deepened. Nabooru ignored it. “Not yet. I think he’ll be fine with rest and water, provided he stays out of the sun and cools down.” She shifted to wink at Link, who continued to look unimpressed. “He’s a tough little thing… for a Hylian.”

Indeed. As much as Ganondorf would prefer to forget about it, he remembered Link during The Troubles, bleeding and exhausted but endlessly fighting. In the end, it was Ganondorf’s mothers who were buried in an unmarked grave deep in the desert, while Link sat here, trying to kill himself for no apparent reason.

“All things you should be able to handle, my lord.” Wait. What? Kali gave him no time to respond, instead reaching out to grab Nabooru’s arm and pull her to her feet. “The Lady Nabooru and I need to… talk.”

Talk? That was the first time Ganondorf had heard of it. He allowed himself to be distracted from Link’s scowl to watch the color drain from Nabooru’s face, a strange panic growing in her eyes. “Kali, I told you: it was just flirting! To see if I could fluster her!”

Ganondorf only heard bits after that, Kali dragging Nabooru into the Fortress. Something about… Princess Zelda’s Sheikah? Or was there another Impa out there?

No. He didn’t want to know. Shaking his head, Ganondorf returned his attention to Link. The Hylian’s look of confusion would almost be comforting if it wasn’t a possible sign of heat exhaustion. “Drink more water, little one, and then we will move you into the Fortress. It’s cooler in there.”

Those brilliant blue eyes glared at him for a moment longer before softening. Link sipped some more water, letting it settle in his mouth for a moment. Not his first round with heat exhaustion, Ganondorf guessed. He wasn’t surprised. Still…

“I’m surprised you allowed such a thing to happen.” Ganondorf pulled out his own canteen and carefully tilted it over Link’s head. The Hylian flinched but didn’t move away. A few droplets to help further cool him down. “You are usually more aware of your surroundings.”

Link’s chapped lips pursed, and he looked down at the blanket. Ganondorf took the moment to both study him and pour another small stream of water over his head. With his hair wet and his face turned away, it was easy to look at Link and remember the child who used his strange magic years ago to call rain from the sky and convince an angry young king to let him into his fortress. How things had changed since then.

“There is something happening,” Link said quietly, too quietly. Ganondorf strained to hear him. “At the temples.”

“Oh?” When they first met, how Ganondorf had pushed Link for answers. He had learned since then. Answers from Link were as rare as rain in the desert.

Such an annoying Hylian, Ganondorf reflected, even as he poured some water into his hand and gently patted Link’s too-dry cheeks with it. Link stared silently at him, blue eyes as serious as ever, and didn’t move away from his touch. If anything, he seemed to lean into it. Perhaps the desert heat had been more potent than Ganondorf thought.

Link sipped his water again. Then he shrugged. No verbal answer deemed necessary, Ganondorf supposed. He had provided the necessary information. Sometimes, Ganondorf wondered how Princess Zelda obtained any information from him.

“Something dangerous,” Ganondorf mused aloud, pouring more water on his hand. “As dangerous as  _ then,  _ perhaps?”

Another shrug. That… wasn’t comforting.

Thi time when he patted Link’s cheeks with the cool water, he swore Link leaned into his touch. Ganondorf studied Link’s flushed face, trying to discern his thoughts, but it was impossible when Link looked at him through his eyelashes like that. Ganondorf bit back a sigh. “Come, little one. Your princess will declare war on us if we let the desert heat kill you.”

Link frowned but didn’t protest when Ganondorf wrapped an arm around his slender shoulders and hauled him to his feet. Instead, again, he leaned into Ganondorf. Worn from the heat, Ganondorf guessed. Unsurprising.

Link continued to lean against him as they walked through the Fortress. Gerudo watched them pass and whispered to each other. Did they fear the heat affected their chances with the Hylian? Or did they view his illness as an opening?

Unwilling, Ganondorf’s arm tightened around Link’s shoulders. When he looked down, he was unsurprised to find Link’s eyes all but closed, oblivious to stares. Did he have any idea how the Gerudo looked at him?

Soon, they reached Link’s quarters. Ganondorf swore Kali had set up Link’s room beside his when Ganondorf wasn’t paying attention. Kali spoiled Link too much.

Ganondorf helped Link strip and set him in bed, leaving briefly to refill both their canteens. He sat beside Link’s head, monitoring Link’s color and the dryness of his skin. Carelessly, he pet Link’s damp hair. “You are certainly foolish, little one.”

Link raised an eyebrow at him, then settled his head on Ganondorf’s thigh and closed his eyes. Ganondorf shook his head and kept petting Link’s hair. 

How odd it was for Princess Zelda to send such an oblivious spy. Ganondorf’s gain, he supposed.

**Author's Note:**

> More fandom and info on other fics can be found on my [tumblr](https://tirsynni.tumblr.com/)! :D


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